Economic News August 16, 2012
Eurozone annual inflation remained stable at 2.4 percent in July, final data from Eurostat showed Thursday. The rate also matched flash estimate. On a monthly basis, consumer prices were down 0.5 percent in July. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Economic confidence in Switzerland improved in August, data from a survey by Credit Suisse and the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) showed Thursday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Spain's merchandise trade deficit decreased from last year in June, helped by a notable growth in exports and a contraction in imports, data released by the government showed Thursday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Turkey's central bank on Thursday decided to maintain its one-week repo rate at a record low of 5.75 percent. The decision was in line with economists' expectations. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
New housing construction in the U.S. dipped more than expected in July, but an equally unexpected strong jump in construction permitting offers hopes for the future of the beleaguered housing market. According to figures released Thursday by the Commerce Department, new privately-owned housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000, a 1.1 percent drop from June levels. Most economists had predicted a drop in housing starts from the rebound in June, but most had expe (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Initial claims for U.S. unemployment insurance came in slightly higher than anticipated in the week ended August 11th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although claims appear to have stabilized following recent volatility. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Forex Top Story
The Brazilian government has unveiled a key stimulus package aimed at attracting as much as BRL 133 billion ($66 billion) in private investment into the country's infrastructure projects over the next 25 years. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
China's Premier Wen Jiabao has said that the economy is still under pressure, despite some positive signs in some sectors, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The unemployment rate in South Korea fell to its lowest level in seven months in July amid an increase in the number of self-employed persons, data released by Statistics Korea showed Thursday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
U.K. retail sales expanded unexpectedly in July driven by promotions and discounting, the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. Further, the upward revision to June's retail sales boosted hopes that the economy contracted less than initially estimated in the second quarter. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Commodities
Gold demand declined in the second quarter as investment and jewellery demand softened in India and China, data from the World Gold Council showed Thursday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The price of gold was little changed Thursday morning as the U.S. dollar was trading firm ahead of today's economic data, including weekly jobless claims data. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The price of crude oil was little changed Thursday morning amid a steady dollar as traders await cues from today's economic data. Possible tensions in Middle-East and a dip in crude oil inventories supported prices. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Political News
Ecuador has accused the British government of threatening to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from its Embassy in London, and warned that such an action would force a strong response from the South American nation. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Four Arab nations on Wednesday urged their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately in the wake of the recent abductions of Sunni Muslims by a Lebanese Shiite clan in retaliation for the capture of one of their members by the rebel fighters in Syria. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Strife-torn Syria has been suspended from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the "brutal suppression" of a popular uprising by the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Five Chinese activists arrested by the Japanese police after landing on the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea were brought to Naha port in the Okinawa prefecture on Thursday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The European Union has expressed concerns over the recent attack by Republican Guard troops on Yemen's Defense Ministry in capital Sanaa, and called on all parties in the Middle East nation to exercise restraint and respect state institutions. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
Currency Alerts
The Japanese yen fell against other major currencies in the early Asian session on Thursday on hopes that China may take steps to stimulate growth. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The U.S. dollar rose against its most major counterparts in Asian trading on Thursday as investors bought the dollar on diminished expectations for additional monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The pound strengthened against its major counterparts in the European morning deals on Thursday after data showed that the nation's retail sales increased unexpectedly in July. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
General News
Prince Philip, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, has been taken to hospital as a "precautionary measure" after the recurrence of a bladder infection he suffered earlier this summer, the Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced on Wednesday that it had carried out the first in a series of airdrops in South Sudan to replenish rapidly depleting food stocks for more than 100,000 people who have fled fighting in neighboring Sudan. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
German authorities said on Wednesday that they arrested four people suspected of violating a standing nuclear embargo on Iran by illegally supplying Tehran with parts needed to build a nuclear reactor. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
At least 60 miners have been killed after the shaft in which they were working collapsed in a remote region in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local media reports citing officials said late on Wednesday. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, using the on-board Lyman Alpha Mapping Project, or LAMP, spectrometer, has detected the presence of helium in the thin atmosphere of the moon, by examining far ultra violet rays above the lunar surface. (Aug 16, 2012) Full Article
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